viper 5301 remote starter in 95 explorer

i am installing a viper 5301 in my 95 ford explorer - a slow install

1995 Ford Explorer XLT

4 door

6 cylinder OHV 

2 wheel drive

automatic transmission

keyless entry with factory alarm

overhead console

no memory seats

no EATC

no message center

no heated mirrors

Pretty much the standard soccer mom version.  I moved the radio to the accessory delay and installed the automatic dimming mirror with automatic

some connections are straightfroward but others are not - seems that these units were reworked from the previous vipers - and the install manual is not online yet (if i had a scanner...)

i got the connection chart from here, researched lots of threads and studies the ford technical specifications publications - but still have a few questions - my first is about the parking lights

it looks to me like this viper has an internal relay that supplies a 10 amp (+ or - depending on how the fuse is placed in the viper) output for the parking lights - the connection chart here shows a connection to the headlamp switch - it looks like that connection drives the coil in the explorer relay

connection chart info:

parking lights (-) - WHITE/ purple - driver kick panel

parking lights (+) - WHITE/ black - headlight switch

this is from the primary harness connection section

Install manual text:  This wire should be connected to the parking light wire in the vehicle.  See Setting the light flash polarity section of this guide for polarity settings.

For parking light circuits that draw 10-amps or more, the internal jumper must be switched to a (-) light flash output.  (See Setting the light flash polarity section of this guide.)  P/N 8617 or a standard automotive SPDT relay must be used on the H1/11 light flash output harness wire.

Install manual text:  Setting the light flash polarity. 

Light flash (+)/(-) polarity

The internal fuse is used to determine the light flash output.  In the (+) position, the onboard relay will output (+) 12V on the white wire, H1/11.  In the (-) position, the onboard relay will supply a (-) output.  When wiring into a multiplex circuit, you can replace the fuse with a resistor (paying attention to the polarity setting).  (Refer to diagram on p. 24, H1/4 WHITE/ brown wire description.)

i have the schematics for the external lights and the headlight switch pinout on the web site

https://mysite.verizon.net/respkm62/viper5301ina1995fordexplorer/

i also have the install manual text for each harness connection if anyone needs it - as i find the correct connections, i will fill in the info

can someone help with this connection?

Isnt parking lights off the R/S... WHITE...Take your DMM put Black lead to ground...put red lead in suspected Parking light wire on Remote Start...press lock/un-lock...see what voltage does on R/S...if you see 12 volts flash check manual again and verify wire and wire desription.

Once you find and verify + output on remote start you are going to take black lead on DMM and put black to ground...Locate parking light wire in car...Put red lead on wire,pierce insulation...Turn parking lights on-off...When you get 12 volts on your meter...then move dimmer switch up/down{dial/switch that dims your dash lights] you do not want a change in voltage...If voltage de-creases and increases  ,usually a few volts, when turning dial it is wrong wire{When you do find Parking light wire and your moving dimmer up/down you might see a slight change in voltage like 12.57-12.48,not a problem}

Hope this helps

thanks tommy - i was looking at a different chart that gave the wrong wire color - i found the brown wire in the passenger kick panel and tested it

i also connected the unit to the harnesses but something is wrong - i can hold the valet button and the unit enters programming mode - the horn honks for the menu selection and the option setting (i need to set it to automatic transmission) - when i press the unlock on the remote (to select auto transmission) the remote gives an error tone - i tried it with the door open and closed

it might be that my lock/unlock is wrong - the chart shows: 

lock - pink / YELLOW - meter shows a constant 12v - drops when i press the lock button on the door

unlock - pink/light green - meter shows constant 12v - drops when i press the unlock button on the door

i connected the wires and tested at the harness - when i connect all the harnesses to the unit, if i press unlock (or lock) on the remote i get no relay clicks that i can hear - and the remote gives an error tone a few seconds later - then i release the valet button (not knowing if the change worked) - 30 seconds later i get a short and long horn honk (the manual does not tell how to exit programming mode)

the manual for the 5301 changed - the 'component locations and finding wires' section says to go to directechs.com - all the explanations were deleted (the 5701 has some explanations) and of course i don't have access to the web site

when i look at the 5701 explanation for locks, it shows the same connections for either type a or type b locks (positive or negative) - not sure how the unit would know which are being used - the 5701 has this

important:  remember that these wires' functions reverse between type a and type b.

the only connection i have not made

dome output - not sure i need it

second lock output - might need it for progressive locks but wanted to get the regular lock connection first

the cabin temperature function seems to work so the remote seems to talk to the unit

any ideas on what i am doing wrong?  as far as i know, the unit is set to its defaults.

the lock wires i attached to are a thin gauge - very thin - they have 12v at rest and when i use the switch on the door, the voltage drops and quickly returns to 12v - these are the wires that go to the switch

not sure what caused this - probably the relearning the remote - it seemed to take

then i tried to change the transmission option in the programming menu - and this time i placed the remote in the transmit mode (or whatever - before when i tried to program, i did not do anything to prepare the remote to transmit - not sure if i need to)

then i tried the lock and unlock - it worked - guess i should try the remote start - kinda spooked about that after reading some horror threads about cars that come alive and consume small puppies

i also read about the units with the bad antenna problem - someone said the 'newer' (ones that worked) had a silver dot of paint somewhere

thanks chris - now on to the dome light and second lock wires

For the Dome light...It is a feature where the dome light goes off/on with arm/dis-arm. Second unlock is a feature where drivers door is unlocked when you hit unlock...press again for all other doors..An upsell for that feature is no-one can jump in passenger seat when you hit unlock...Good Luck on rest of install...

notes for posterity - the second unlock wire is not needed - the progressive unlock function still perfroms like the one on the factory keychain fob (once for driver door - twice for all doors)

lock does not arm the factory alarm - i will research if that is a programmable setting or if i need to connect the viper arm wire to the factory antitheft - i suspect i will need to do that

locking with the ford fob arms the antitheft - unlocking with the viper fob disarms the antitheft - makes sense - i have the disarm wire connected

the inside dome lights do not come on with the viper unlock - viper has a dome output wire that powers the coil in a relay - i suspect i need to connect that to the light GREEN/ orange wire between the gem and the lamp relay

i did try the remote start - relays clicked but it did not turn over - need to revisit my heavy gauge harness - the lights flashed though - the brake aborted the retries (yes!)

one other note - the brown wire flashes the parking lights, tail lights, tag lights and instrument lights - i thought it would after looking at the schematic - wonder if all that is more than 10 amps?

	Battery		YELLOW		(+)		IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS
	Ignition 1		GREEN/ VIOLET		(+)		IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS "2 WIRES"
	Ignition 2		BLACK/ GREEN		(+)		IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS (BLOWER MOTOR)
	Accessory 1		GREEN/ YELLOW		(+)		IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS "2 WIRES"
	Starter 1		RED / LIGHT BLUE		(+)		IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS

Do all the dash lights come on, on the dash, and the vehicle just doesnt crank...Or the parking lights just flash when you press the start button...? Did you hook up Tach Wire...? Did you do Tach Learn Procedure?.... Default is virtual tach{it says it learns during start, did you have a bad start attempt during learning sequence?}...then voltage{if not using tach}...Option 3 is blank...4 is regualer tach...Also IT IS set in manual Transmission mode{default}...Will have to change that to automatic...{scrolling through the install guide}

no dash lights come on (the ones like brake, oil, abs, etc.)

the parking lights flash once - then the relays click - the engine does not try to turn over nor does the starter engage - it does retry but i hit the brake to abort the retries

i connected the tach wire to the tan / YELLOW wire at the pcm (labeled ignition control module (icm))

have not done the tach learning routine - thought it did that on its first start or when you make it do the learn routine - thought the remote starter had to start the car to do it

i have changed one setting from the defaults - automatic transmission

i am not sure if i am using the right wires on the viper heavy gauge harness - i tried the wires i think are right when i had the failure

start - viper violet to RED / light blue

accessory - viper orange to gray / YELLOW

ignition 1 - viper pink to light GREEN/ purple

ignition 2 - viper RED / white to BLACK/ light green

i also tried the viper pink/white to BLACK/ light green (ignition 2 wire on the viper?)

there is no GREEN/ YELLOW on the car's ignition harness - i assume it meant gray / YELLOW - there is no 12v on this wire in the key accessory position

here is the pinout of the ignition harness - i posted the results of testing with the dimm above but it might not be clear

https://mysite.verizon.net/respkm62/viper5301ina1995fordexplorer/id34.html

aha - i just noticed something - the 95 explorer was a strange year - its computer was a combination of the older obd 1 and newer obd 2 - so i looked at the 1994 chart from here

the gray / YELLOW is there but on my car, gray / YELLOW does not have 12v in accessory

not a perfect match to what is on my car either

the BLACK/ white is connected to ground - i used the same connection to the chassis as i used for the unit ground

i just tried the tach learn routine - when the light lit up, i heard a click in the viper - seemed to work - tried the resote start again - same result

sounds like several clicks - no start or cranking still - the parking lights flash once briefly then the clicks - these are not the idiot lights that flash (oil, fasten belts, abs, etc.)

this is what each wire on the car harness reads

r/lb - 12v start - 0 run - 0 accessory     (start)

lg/p - 12v start - 12v run - 0 accessory     (ignition 1)

bk/lg - 0 start - 12v run - 12v accessory     (accessory)

gy/y - 0 start - 12v run - 0 accessory    (ignition 2)

yellow - 12v always - i connected this wire to the primary harness red wire - constant - i think it powers the unit

the gray / YELLOW has 12v in run only

on the 12v constant - only 1 wire - the red from the primary harness

pin 11 of the primary harness is white - parking lights - connected

the dome light is on pin 9 of the primary harness - BLACK/ white - i don't have it connected yet

the neutral/safety is pin 1 of the remote start input harness - since this has an automatic transmission, it is connected to the bolt i used for ground on the chassis - i have the black wire from the primary harness pin 5 connected to this same bolt

not sure if the duplicate wires on the ignition harness on the car function the same - maybe i should try the alternate wire

i will also perform the setup for automatic transmission again to see if that works

and you are right - the manual sucks

well i only have 1 connection to constant power - from the primary harness (smaller wire) that supplies power for the memory

that wire (RED / black) is fused and connected to nothing right now - it is on the heavy gauge harness

Connection description:  Fused (30A) accessory/starter input

Harness wire color:  RED / Black

Install manual text:  This wire is the polarity feed to the accessory and starter relays.

think it needs constant power?  the yellow on the car's ignition harness?

the heavy gauge harness did need two connections to constant 12v - when i get the defrost and second lock wires corrected, i will post the updated connections

Second lock wire...? What is this for...?

original_sloop wrote:

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the heavy gauge harness did need two connections to constant 12v - when i get the defrost and second lock wires corrected, i will post the updated connections

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the second unlock is also called progressive unlocking - the first press of the unlock button unlocks the driver's door only - the second press unlocks all the doors - adding the function is not that hard - its one connection and changing the programming to turn it on

after that, i want to work on the courtesy lights - i'd like them to come on when unlock is pressed - might need a relay here - the viper wire puts out a (-) 200ma signal - i will have to research what the ford wants

the defrost does not work - need to check what the ford wants - the wire puts out a (-) 200ma signal from the viper

then the arming wire - its interesting that if i press the lock with the doors closed, the antitheft is not armed - if i press unlock with the doors open, it arms - i read this here

arms on lock only with door open - it is necessary to send a signal to door trigger as well as to lock to arm factory alarm.

guess i'll be probing lots of wires with the dimm

after reading this here:

arms on lock only with door open - it is necessary to send a signal to door trigger as well as to lock to arm factory alarm.

i measured the voltage on the door trigger wire

door closed (dome light off) = 0

door open (dome light on) = 12v

press the ford lock button and i get a momentary (-) 200ma

the viper "arm" wire sends out (-) 200ma - but if i connect that wire and open the door, won't i be sending 12v through the viper unit when the dome light come on?  would i need a diode or is that built into the viper?  or does it matter if i send 12v through this wire?

Install manual text:  This wire sends a negative pulse every time the remote start shuts down or when the doors are locked with the remote.  This can be used to pulse the arm wire of the vehicle’s factory antitheft device.  Use a relay to send a (-) or (+) pulse to the arm wire.

You are not going to use door trigger  wire to activate factory alarm...you will need to find factory arm wire...cant help you there only lists factory dis-arm...

Yes that is how you arm factory security...open door...lock vehicle...

sorry for the confusion on the lock/unlock wires and the second unlock - if you select the second unlock option in the viper programming menu, the viper sends unlock down the standard unlock wire on the first press of the remote - the second press on the remote, it sends unlock down the second unlock wire - the ford schematic shows the wire for the driver door unlock:

viper STANDARD unlock wire to ford DRIVER door unlock

viper SECOND unlock wire to ford REGULAR door unlock (all doors)

it works - when i place the dimm on the wire, it reads 12v - when you press the unlock door on the ford, the voltage drops a sec - when i press the ford fob unlock, the voltage drops a sec - same thing when you press the viper unlock - i assume all 3 send that (-) 200ma on the wire and that signals the locks

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the disarm wire works - its a fairly straightforward connection

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i have looked through all the ford schematics and can't find a wire for "arm" on the vehicle - evidently, when you press the ford fob lock button, the ford signals the lock wire (and it locks the doors) AND it sends a (-) 200ma signal through the wire we use for the door trigger on the ford - this arms the ford factory antitheft

i placed the dimm on the wire on the ford for the door trigger - to see if the theory was true - that wire shows 12v when the dome lights are on - nothing when the dome lights are off - i pressed the ford fob to lock the doors (and arm the factory antitheft) and i see (-) 200ma on the wire (again, this is the wire on the ford that we use for door trigger)

the viper wire for "arm" sends out (-) 200ma when it functions - which seems ideal - no relay required (i guess) - before i connect it to the ford door trigger wire, i was asking if these wires are diode protected - or if the viper unit would care if i send 12v down that wire (when i open the door and the dome light comes on) - or if i need to add a diode myself

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i have not worked on the dome light yet - when i identify the relay wire i will test it and see what happens on it to activate the light with the ford fob unlock

defrost - evidently it only works when the vehicle is started with the remote start - i'll test it later - not much need for it in texas

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dome light - need a relay to send 12v to the door trigger wire - this will use the viper's timing mechanism instead of the ford's - i tested the dome output and it does have a timed output on the dome light output wire

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arm wire - thought i could tap into the key cylinder arm wire - but there is not one - locking the door with a key does not arm the factory antitheft  (it does disarm) - pulsing the door trigger wire does not arn the factory antitheft - locking the doors with the keypad does arm the factory antitheft - but the only outputs i see coming from the antitheft module (rap module) for the keypad are connections to the lock and unlock wires

rap module schematics

https://mysite.verizon.net/respkm62/viper5301ina1995fordexplorer/id11.html

power door lock schematics

https://mysite.verizon.net/respkm62/viper5301ina1995fordexplorer/id16.html

i don't understand why locking the doors on the ford will arm the system when done with a door switch, ford keychain fob or the ford keypad

locking the doors with the viper arms the antitheft if the doors are open - it does not arm the antitheft if the doors are closed

since the viper knows when the door is opened (door trigger tire), i wonder if it does this by design -  i don't see any reason why the ford would be the cause of this

i do see the voltage change on the door trigger wire when the doors are locked (drops a fraction of a second) - guess i should check and see if it drops when i lock the doors with the viper and the doors are closed